Senior Service Delivery Lead

Qarik Overview

Co-Founded by Google Cloud Engineering leaders and backed by Peak 6 Investments, Qarik (pronounced “KAR-ik,” meaning “rock” in Gaelic) is an IT Solutions company with a focus on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) strategy and implementation. We’re growing and continue to attract brand-name (F1000) clients.

We strive to work “with” our clients. We embrace agile instead of deliverables and milestones - establish a vision, create a theme-based roadmap, and execute. We work in the trenches with our clients to learn from each other's experiences and capabilities.  

Unlike the traditional IT Solutions model, where consultants can remain long beyond project completion, we enter our engagements with the end in mind. Core to our ethos is the ability to solve complex problems and teach clients to do the same.

Qarik is seeking a Senior Services Delivery Lead (SSDL) to join our growing team.

The lifecycle of a Qarik project runs from planning to sales through execution and closure, with many stops in between. As a Senior Services Delivery Lead, you’ll play a critical part in them. The most crucial part of your job will be assuming a vital player-coach role in our clients’ projects and product delivery. You will be seen as the first/central point of contact regarding program execution and delivery for your accounts and have a full 360 view of them.

This is an opportunity to leverage our existing foundation and help build out our project and product management function as an external client servicing role, which is imperative to the successful execution of the large-scale cloud and IT transformation projects we deliver in partnership with our customers.  You’ll be seen as the one-stop shop for the client programs you own, with an opportunity to grow teams of project managers and SDLs below you. 

The desired candidate location is in the US, on the east coast (Chicago, New York, or nearby regions).

Partner with the Customer

• Build relationships, becoming the customer’s advocate and coach by building trust.
• Keep a regular cadence of discussions and progress updates.
• Manage communication with stakeholders of multiple levels, knowing when to change tone.
• Learn the client’s business, environment, objectives, and challenges.  Use your strong sense of empathy to provide the right support and advice to help them deliver their product or program effectively.
• Coach customer and partner teams in agile or execution improvements.  Know the difference between recommending a standard set of rules and strategically, creatively finding the right behaviors to coach and change.
• Leverage your product management expertise and understanding to demonstrate good product owner and product management behavior and practice.
• Guide client and Qarik teams in good prioritization, roadmap, and execution practices; keeping the end user (“customer”) first.
• As needed, supplement the Customer’s team with your skills.
• Create tools, pick the right tools to allow teams to communicate, brainstorm, design, and build effectively.
• Know the difference between recommending a standard set of rules and strategically, creatively finding the right behaviors to coach and change.
• Be comfortable partnering with other partners when and if they are involved in the overall client program.

Own Qarik Project Delivery

• Prepare and use Qarik’s tools to prepare and manage your project; or bring your own ideas and suggestions to do so better.
• Initiate project work with team members ensuring they are set for success internally and externally.
• Create and manage project plans, communicating plans to internal and external stakeholders in formats suitable to the audience. Identity and manage dependencies proactively.
• Moderate, lead, meetings with strong communication and efficiency.  Take meeting minutes (with team collaboration), create decks, and ad hoc meeting structure/ assets.
• Manage the day to day project ensuring the Qarik team is delivering against expectations or, where needed, creatively changing our approach.
• Manage scope, change requests as needed.
• Identify and manage risks, issues, and asks. Escalate appropriately and early.
• Utilize agile and traditional program management backgrounds to craft the right delivery and management process and tools to effectively guide teams from need to goal, communicating within.
• Manage your project budget, aligned with your Sales partners.
• Actively look for ways to grow the account you are on; suggesting ideas for next projects to your SSDL or account team.
• Approach project delivery with a product mindset; this is core to our approach.  Utilize good product management practices to manage Qarik deliveries, leading by example to our clients.
• Lead delivery of SDL offerings as they evolve, which may include workshops, innovative delivery approaches, or coaching.
• Know the difference between task management and owning delivery and success.

Sales, Resourcing, and Growing Qarik

• Work with internal stakeholders to source the right resources for new projects sold.
• Partner with account teams to be sure they have the information they need to make informed decisions.
• Lead SOW contracting, writing SOWs, managing the redline process through to close.  Participate in MSA redline processes.
• Support the SDL team’s initiatives to grow Qarik and the SDL team through improvements to process, templates, or sellable offerings.
• Look for opportunities to apply your execution and product delivery expertise to grow Qarik.  This may be in the form of building new sellable SDL offerings, tools for delivery, assets to support our business, or ideas for new ways to make measurable change with our clients.

Manage Internal Team Communications

• Clearly articulate scope and expectations to Qarik team members, making sure their roles are clear and they are set up for success.
• Partner effectively with other teams engaged, treating the customer as an equal and actively coaching others to avoid common consulting behavior.
• Keep internal stakeholders up to date as needed, through regular ceremonies or ad hoc checkpoints.  Clearly communicate objectives, risks, and any needs/asks.
• Potentially manage direct reports (i.e., Services Delivery Leads and Project Managers), aiding in their growth and development.
• Partner with technical leads and managers to help contribute to the career growth of engineers and technical staff.

Technical Skills and Knowledge:

• 10+ years of experience in managing large-scale and complex projects with experience managing project teams of various sizes, locations, and skillsets/ levels.
• Recommended experience in professional services; this is a hands-on, client facing role.
• At least 5 years of team/employee career management.
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Computer Science, or a technology-related field.
• Experience working with product companies, working both in the weeds and strategically.
• Experience in product management and project management, understanding the roles of a product manager, product owner, and how that can be applied to delivery of projects.
• You enjoy working with minimal structure and you enable change around you.
• You think and work systematically and logically, and your strong communication skills are backed up by technical skills and knowledge.
• You are a clear communicator both verbally and in writing. You know how to convey information through illustration, words, or diagram/workflow.
• Trained in project management and agile disciplines required either self taught or formal.
• You may have a background in engineering, software architecture, or delivery.
• Priority certification as a scrum master or more. Potentially also helpful training may also include other project management certifications (PMI, PMP…).
• You generally are process oriented and like to reduce the chaos, find satisfaction in organizing people, activities, and delivery.
• You are a learner, proactive, and generally strive to do more.
• You have experience with agile disciplines, software development methodologies, various agile delivery tools and administration thereof, have a background in engineering, software architecture, product management, or delivery.
• Helpful certifications or training may include: CSM, CPM, other project management certifications (PMI, PMP…).

Other Relevant Details:

• Willingness to travel up to 25% and potentially time shift to accommodate project needs.